consulate in benghazi, libya a terrorist action. in her letter, rice wrote, "the position of secretary of state should never be politicized. i'm saddened that we have reached this point." in u.s. economic news, the number of americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to its second- lowest level this year. and retail sales rebounded in november, rising 0.3% but that seemingly good news did little to help stocks on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost almost 75 points to close at just under 13,171. the nasdaq fell more than 21 points to close at 2,992. the european union came a step closer to a full-fledged banking union today. after an all-night meeting in brussels, e.u. finance ministers agreed to give the european central bank oversight of eurozone banks, as well as banks in other e.u. countries that choose to opt-in. the european commissioner for economic and monetary affairs said the agreement was an important step forward for europe. >> last night's decision on the single supervis